Horror Crush: Alison Lohman

A recent revisit to one of my favorite flicks has made it very clear that is time to add another lovely and talented lady to this site's Horror Crushes. And, that stunner is the amazing Alison Lohman!
 

Alison Marion Lohman was born on September 18, 1978 in Palm Springs, California. She began acting in theater at age nine in 1988. She would go to work on TV and movies starting in 1998. I first knew about her thanks to seeing pics and clips of her in White Oleander (2002). Now, I never seen that movie nor is it horror, but her looking all goth was breathtaking and immediately caught my attention. Shit she even made Watch Mojo's 20 Hottest Goth Girls, deservedly so I might add! Anyways, we love goth girls here and know most horror fans do, too, so here some pics of her as her character in that movie Astrid Magnusson.

In 2009, she appeared in her first horror movie: Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell. One of my favorite movies, it is the reason for her induction. In it she plays Christine Brown a loan agent looking to move forward in her career. An assistant branch manager position is opened, and she is one of the two nominees for it. She see her chance to prove herself capable of making hard choices when she turns down the loan extension for a sickly, old gypsy lady. Who would have been this old lady's third extension. The woman puts a curse on Christine after she feels humiliated by her. So that, in three days a demon called the Lamia will take Christine to hell. She must try and find a way to escape the curse or destroy the demon, before it is too late for her.

Raimi's demonic horror flick is exhilarating, energetic, stylish (of course!), and absolutely wild. It is, in my humble opinion, his finest flick since Darkman. Yes, that means that I think that it's better than his Spider-Man movies. The film is alternately funny and scary. And, while the movie was released as a PG-13 flick, it doesn't hurt it. Though, the unrated cut on DVD and Blu-Ray with the extra gore added back in is even more awesome (OK I don't like a certain scene involving a kitty, but other than that awesome!!). The goat possessed by the demon rules. and the ending is unforgettable, It is a finale that never loses its power. In fact, this film holds up really well in repeated viewings and is one of the best horror movies of the 2000s. 

Lohman is amazing in the film. She makes Christine feel like a very real character. She might have done this one thing in her job (which we are not sure we would or could do, I sure as hell am glad that I don't have to), but, she is a sweet and good hearted person, overall. We feel awful for all the horror that she is going through. We want her to to be happy with her finance (well played by Justin Long), which makes the horror work so well. And, she manages to handle the more humorous aspects of the film excellently, too. Lohman is, to put it bluntly, fucking awesome! She is also absolutely gorgeous! She took my breath away, when I saw her in this. She is truly one of the most naturally beautiful women, and as Christine, easily wins your heart.

 

She would appear in one more movie that year, Gamer, and soon after retire from acting deciding to focus on being a mom to her three kids. She would then  decide to teach online acting classes. And, would go on to do a few more movies later on. Among those is her only other horror movie, The Vatican Tapes (2016). I never seen this one, but if you have let me know your thoughts on it. And, of course, let me know about her role in it.

On August 19, 2017, I met her at Monster-Mania. This makes her second inductee, the other being Daphne Zuniga, from that specific Monster-Mania to be a Horror Crush here. Anyways, Lohman was so sweet and talkative in person, as well as being such a stunning and natural beauty. Meeting her was truly fucking awesome!

Rewatching Drag Me to Hell is always a great experience. Even if it part me feels sad that she no longer acts, much. Anyways, we will always have her incredible role of Christine in Raimi's modern classic. And, for that alone, I am honored to induct Alison Lohman into Horror Crushes! 

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Monster-Mania Aug. 2017

On August 19, 2017, my good friend, and one of the Master's Minions, Freddie and I, headed over to Cherry Hill for another edition of Monster-Mania!! This was an awesome experience, from start to finish, and, overall, ranks among my favorite con experiences, which is a lot!

The first celeb that I went up to was the beautiful Alison Lohman. I know her best from one of my favorite horror movies of the last couple of years, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell. She played the lead in it and was great! You may also know her from White Oleander were she looked especially breathtaking as a goth chick, among other roles that she has done. She was so sweet and talkative in person, as she told us about how great it was working with Raimi, and the usage of, mostly, practical FX. She is also so naturally beautiful! Lohman signed my Blu-ray copy of Drag Me to Hell. I was so happy to meet her as she was one of the two that I most wanted to meet for the first time.

The other person I most wanted to meet the most was the still gorgeous Daphne Zuniga. Many will best know this talented stunner from Melrose Place or from the Mel Brooks comedy Spaceballs. But, my favorite role of hers in the oh so fun sequel The Fly II. I actually asked her about it, and she told me that she could talk more about it more at her panel later in the day. But, she did tell me that she was already friends with Eric Stolz before shooting the flick. She is very sweet and seemed to be having a lot of fun at the con, as she was all smiles. I got to get a pic with her.

And, so a little later we did attend her panel, where she talked about being cast in Melrose Place, and how great it was to work with Mel Brooks, how she improved the scene where the laser blast messes up her hair, and more. She also mentioned that John Candy was so nice in person. I asked her about The Fly II, of course, and she spoke of how she got the role, thanks to Brooks, as it was produced by him. She also told us about emoting as Eric Stolz turned into a fly monster, and of how good an actor Stolz is, even, under all that makeup. She mentioned how he liked it with makeup FX, having done Mask, a little before this one. This most also be the first time were she not only talked about those movies, but also the cult flicks The Dorm that Dripped Blood and The Initiation, since they came out, if not ever! But, she looked liked she had a great time answering all the questions and reminiscing about her career.

Later, I went up to Lloyd Kaufman, at the Troma booth. Uncle Lloyd is always such a blast in person! I got Troma's War, which I had finally upgraded to Blu-ray, which he signed. He also signed my copy of Return to Nuke 'Em High Vol. 1, which was already signed by much of the cast. I got pic with him, and, of course, Toxie!

I finally met PJ Soles! Best known for roles in classics like Halloween, Carrie, Rock N' Roll High School, and The Devil's Rejects, she is truly one of the sweetest celebs ever! She liked my Fright-Rags Jaws shirt, which is freaking, no make that ''totally'', awesome! Next, time that she is at a con, I gotta bring my Halloween Blu-ray with me, so that she can sign it.

There was also  more cosplay than I usually see at this con. Here are two of my favorites:

How fucking awesome is this The Shining family cosplay?! This has to be one of the greatest group cosplays ever! LOVE this!!

This Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom couple cosplay is EVERYTHING!

After a couple of years, it was great to see the Twisted Twins, Jen and Sylvia Soska, again! I got to interview them, and that will be posted when it is edited and ready. Until, then here is a pic of us, from this con.

Finally, I thought I would share with you guys the swag that I got:

Fright-Rags- Aliens socks

Blu-rays- Creepshow 2, Beyond the Darkness, Troma's War, and Burial Ground

Funko Pops- Stranger Things Eleven with Eggos and Masters of the Universe Trap-Jaw. 

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The 10 Best Movies of 2009

Another great year for movie fans has passed. And, while there will always be shitty remakes and sequels and miserable films, in general, there were some real winners out there, in all genres. In fact, this was a real difficult list to make, there were many movies that just, barely did not make the cut. As always, the list is all encompassing and not the usual ass kissing that other sites and blogs may feel the need to do. So, if you are looking for boring, overrated shit, I suggest you look else where. All movies here are equal amounts of quality and entertainment.

10. Zombieland- - Many complain that the zombie sub-genre is getting over crowded, well maybe it is. But, as long as fun, cool movies like this are made, I won't fucking care. This is easily my fav role that Woody Harrelson (one of my favorite actors) has done in a long time. The humor is actually funny and the gore is kick ass. In other this is that hardest of things to do right: the horror comedy. The cameo is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the year's best, and funniest, cinematic moments.

9. Inglorious Basterds- - I have been a long time fan of Tarantino's work, but I will be the first to admit that Kill Bill Vol. 2 and, especially, Death Proof were crap, at least in my humble opinions, anyways. But, Tarantino has redeemed himself with this, his work in a long time. Sure it is kind of slow, at times, but the movie looks great. And, above that the acting is excellent, in particular that of Christopher Waltz as the evil lead Nazi, and the script is phenomenal. Those looking for carnage will love the graphic violence, particularly cheering for the bloody deaths of the piece of shit Nazi scum. The final twenty minutes or so had me on the edge of my seat and cheering. Fucking amazing.

8. Wonder Woman- - DC have doing an amazing job with their direct-to-DVD animated movies. But, even I did not think that they could pull off a movie this great, much less with a character that I was never a fan of. The animation is amazing and the voice acting great. The script is also fun, exciting, and mature. The fight scenes are totally kick ass and some of the violence is pretty shocking. If they ever make Wonder Woman into a live action movie, it will not be easy to top this one. In fact, this one is better than many a live action superhero movie.

7. Up- - For the second year in a row a pixar movie has made my list. Yeah, of course the animation is jaw dropping, but it is the heart here that really makes it shine. During the first fifteen minutes or so, there is little to no dialogue, and yet, I was crying. This movie touched my heart like few movies with a bunch of pointless melodrama could ever hope to achieve. But, it ain't all sad. It also happens to be funny, cute, and, in particular the climax, really exciting. Mark this one as another great hit for Pixar.

6. (500) Days of Summer- - Romantic movies usually suck. It's a fucking fact. And, I abhor chick flicks. But, this dear friends, is NOT a chick flick. In fact, written and directed by guys, the movie can be seen as a normal guy's take on romance. And, I think that is why it connects to guys, so well. What normal dude has not been where our lead is at in the film? But, upon further thought it does have a universal appeal that does pull in both sexes. In fact, few movies spoke to me on a more personal level than this one. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is just great in the movie. Zooey Deschanel is so damn good, as well. She is a babe, one that you will both love her and hate as she plays the role of Summer. Quite simply THE best romantic movie, in my eyes, since Secretary (although that movie is completely different, but you get my point).

5. Drag to Me Hell- - I been a Sam Raimi fan since I was a kid. In fact, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn is one of the movies that influenced me to get into film. But, while I liked the first two Spider-Man movies (part three sucked Venom's dick); I always wanted him to go back to horror. I wondered, almost doubted he would. But, thank fucking God he did. And, in doing so he made his best film since Darkman. Having much of the same feel and style of Evil Dead 2, Drag Me to Hell is wild, fun, and highly entertaining. Even with the usually stifling PG-13 rating, this one delivers some pretty great gross out moments. Also, our lovely lead Alison Lohman is not only a babe, but she is a great actress. One really feels for her character cause she really doesn't deserve all the shit that happens to her, in this movie. While, Lorna Ravner is awesome as the villain. Their confrontation in the parking lot is one of most ass kicking and fun fights in a movie this year. It's a shame that this funny and suspenseful horror flick, did not become a big hit at the box office, while filth like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen made a shit load of cash.

4. District 9- - While, I have no clue if Peter Jackson will ever go back to the splatter film, at least he produced Neill Blomkamp's kick ass sci-fi flick. A smart, deep, thought provoking, multi-layered story is combined with great acting and awesome FX. It also happens to have some of the most impressive gore to bleed forth on a sci-fi since the days of Paul Verhoeven. Combing elements of Robocop and Cronenberg's The Fly, Blomkamp has a made modern classic of the genre. The fact that this film, made in New Zealand and featuring an unknown cast, made money at the box office gives me at least some hope in the cinema going audience.

3. Watchmen- - While, mainstream audiences did not get this one (too slow, too violent, too much sex, whatever the fuck was their complaint), real fans knew that this was a faithful adaptation to one of the great comic book stories ever told. Dark, violent, mature, smart, enthralling, and eye popping this is one of the finest superhero films, ever made. Everyone is so good in their role, but it is Jackie Earl Haley that gives a breakthrough performance as unbalanced but heroic vigilante Rorschach. Not an easy book to adopt, the movie stays close to the source material making only changes that benefit it cinematically. The DVD release of the Ultimate Cut is THE definitive version of this movie, and THE finest DVD release of the year.

2. Martyrs- - Man, the French continue to make the type of horror films America just does not have the balls to fucking do. This movie is brutal, harrowing, and truly horrific. It's a film that makes you feel like the victims, as by the end of the movie I was left scarred, beaten, and brutalized. The movie is divided into three sections, and I realize some have complained about the third section. But, if you get it, it really does work. There is a richness and deepness here that goes well beyond the gore and shock (even if it does deliver some of the most outright nightmarish examples of that in 2009). Any film that manages to affect on level that is so deep as this one has to be admired.

1. Thirst- - Chan Wook Park is the man. There should be a fucking alter for this director, for fans to worship at. Perhaps, the single best director currently making movies; he hits gold again with this flawless and entertaining take on vampires. While, Hollywood has defanged vamps with the pussified Twilight series; Park takes the sub-genre into an exciting manner. Compiled with his artistic directing and the two excellent leads, Thirst is the finest bloodsucker movie since From Dusk Till Dawn. It is equally fun, funny, horrific, and smart. It also hits the mark as far as sex and gore goes, and Kim Ok-Bin is the single most beautiful and captivating woman to ever play a vampire. She also happens to be one of my picks for hottest babes of the year. The movie got a limited release, so you may not have seen, but I beg you to get your ass to seeing the newly released DVD. Though, I for one, will hold out for a DVD when one with more extras gets released, as this one is as bare bones as it fucking gets. Regardless, Park is an amazing director, and this movie serves to further cement him as one of the finest cinematic voices in the history of genre film making.

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Now playing: Great White - Rock Me
via FoxyTunes

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